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On my Carrera-T. The installer just stripped it off and put a new piece on. Picked up on a back road in the PNW, a bit too close to a Toyota in front of me. Paint was untouched underneath.
Where I live, I’m the Northwest, the roads are more of a concern than the track. I think there are a number of variables to consider:
When you sell your car, are you likely to sell private or as a trade? Dealers do not value PPF and overlook normal road rash for wholesale trades. There is almost zero ROI for PPF if you trade your car in. Private buyers may appreciate it more but don’t expect to get your investment back.
How long will you own the car? The longer that is, the higher the ROI might be for PPF. If you think you will have a super low mileage car 30 years from now, and it could be a collector grade car, protecting perfect paint could be worth it. Although you are likely better investing that same money in the market for the next 30 years 😄
Light or dark color car? In my experience, the ROI is higher on a black car than a white car. Easier to clean/maintain when concerned about visible swirl marks or chips which tend to show more on darker cars.
Do you want to see the occasional chip in paint or mark on PPF? Both will show…don’t believe the self healing magic of PPF. Sure, it might work a little, but marks will be visible over time and can look just as bad or worse than a chip.
The more you track, the more some protection is likely worth it. That being said, the rubber marks from the track tend to come off pretty easy and our tracks have less crap on them than our local roads do so this isn’t a big factor for me.
Do you two bucket hand wash / detail all the time or do you want to take the easy way out from time to time? A full PPF wrap allows you to be a bit lazier in washing / detailing without as much concern for swirls, micro-scratches, etc.
A decision tree for my current car favored skipping PPF. I did it any way and I’m not entirely sure why…likely because I’ve convinced myself of the likely lie that I will own this one forever 😂
Seems like a well-considered post, Jeff...I agree...I didn't bother with PPF, but I know I am probably in the minority. Made no difference whatsoever in my trade of my 2014 CS. Everyone is different and do what you feel works for you, based on advice and your own particular needs.
06-06-2022, 02:48 AM
